A/N - Oh hey! You guys still with me here? Hope you all are getting out and enjoying the summer! How is it August already?! I'm glad that people have been continuing to read the story and let me know that you're still here. I'm still getting work done on this when I can. Like I told you, it will get completed. I appreciate all of the patience!

It might be summer here, but it's getting to be Christmastime in their world. Hope you enjoy the chapter!

—

"How do you even plan a 1st Birthday Party anyway?" Emily asked her Mom, shaking her head. It was the first Saturday in December and Emily had taken Ellie to her mother's house for lunch while Alison had taken Liam with her while she went shopping.

"What do you mean?" Pam laughed. "You make a cake. You buy balloons. You take pictures."

"I feel like there's more to it than that," Emily sighed. Liam's birthday wasn't for another three weeks, but she felt like she needed to plan a great party for it.

"There's really not," Pam shrugged. "He's a baby. Invite his family to the house, provide some food, and have everyone sing happy birthday to him. No big deal."

Sure, it seemed that way, but Emily felt nervous with the Hastings being there. Luckily, they had decided after all that they would go to London and spend Christmas with Melissa so she didn't have to worry about that. They were returning a few days after Christmas, just in time for Liam's birthday, and then heading back to DC. Liam's birthday would be the last time that she would have to worry about them, but that didn't mean that she didn't feel anxious about it. They were still on her and Alison about the everyday things with the kids and she knew that if Liam didn't walk or talk soon that they would be hearing about that too. "I just don't want to deal with Spencer's Mom and Dad picking it apart," she finally said.

"Well it's not for them to pick apart," her mother pointed out. "If Spencer and Toby wanted them to raise the kids they would have named them as the guardians."

"I know." Emily rubbed at her face. She knew all of that in theory, but it didn't feel that way when she sat next to Veronica at the dinner table and had to give her a full report.

"What about Alison?" Pam asked.

"What about her?"

"Is she worried about Spencer's parents?"

"I think she's just ready for them to leave town too," Emily told her.

Pam smiled. "She seems like a nice girl."

Emily's eyes immediately shot over to where her mother was at the comment. She remembered Pam and Alison's interactions on Halloween and how the blonde had put on the nice and sweet act only for her to ice Emily out the following week after her date. "She's..." She paused briefly. Her mother didn't need those kind of details. It would only lead to further questions. "She can be nice when she wants to be. You definitely caught her on a good day."

"Hmm," Pam mused.

"Do you think I should have the party catered?" Emily asked, veering their conversation back to the birthday party.

"You need to stop stressing so much, hunny," her mother shook her head. "Have you been decorating for Christmas? I know that always makes you happy."

Emily sighed again. She looked around at all of the decorations that he mother had already put up in her house. It had been a family tradition to start decorating immediately after Thanksgiving when Emily was growing up. Christmas time was sacred to the Fields family. Her father would work nearly every other holiday that he was stationed overseas just to guarantee going home for Christmas with his family. Even now, as an adult and after her father's death, Emily still loved the holiday. It was full of happy memories for her. She was having trouble getting started with Christmas decorations at the house she was living in though. "No, not yet," she confessed.

Pam pushed her brows together. That didn't sound like her daughter. "Why not?" She asked.

Emily twisted her lips. She glanced over at Ellie who was sitting at the table and watching a cartoon on the iPad. She kept her voice low as to not let the little girl hear. "I don't really know where they kept the decorations. And even if I did..."

"You aren't ready to go through their things," her mother deducted.

Emily nodded. She had considered buying all new things like she had done with the trick or treat baskets, but that didn't feel fair to the kids. She wanted them to grow up with the decorations that Spencer and Toby had picked out. She was all but sure that they were in the basement, but hadn't been able to make herself go down there and start digging around. She wasn't sure what she would find and she was nervous that if she saw something that hit close to home it may bring back memories of her friends. She didn't want to break down.

Pam pressed her lips together for a moment and then nodded her head. "I know the feeling," she sighed. "I couldn't bring myself to get out the decorations that first year after we lost Dad."

Emily tilted her head in thought. She couldn't remember a year when they didn't have the decorations up in her house. Sure, some of her memories following her father's death were a little bit hazy, but she definitely would have remembered if she and her mother hadn't decorated their house for Christmas. "How did you work yourself up to digging them out?" She asked.

"I didn't," Pam shook her head. "Your Aunt Cathy did."

Emily huffed out something between a laugh and a breath. "I don't know that."

"She sent me out of the house to go shopping for a day and while I was gone she got all of the decorations from the attic and the basement," he mother confessed.

"That was nice of her," Emily nodded with a smile. She'd always found her aunt to be a little bit annoying, but this was a story about her that she could stand to hear.

"How about I do the same for you?" Pam offered.

"No," Emily answered right away. "You don't have to do that. I can go down to the basement myself and get the decorations."

"Emily," her mother sighed. "Why don't you ever let anyone help you?"

"I do," she argued.

"You don't. I know you're struggling. You're my daughter, and I can tell. Let me help you."

Her mother stared her down at her and Emily couldn't break the eye contact. She thought about it for a moment before relenting. "Fine. If you're free next weekend that would be a big help."

Pam shook her head. "I was thinking tomorrow. By next weekend the month will be nearly half over."

"Um... I think Alison will be at the house most of the day."

"Perfect! Why don't you two pack up the kids and take a drive out to the Christmas Tree farm. If you make a whole day out of it that should give me plenty of time to find everything," Pam suggested.

Emily twisted her hands in front of her. "Right, but I kind of had plans..."

"Doing what?" The older woman put a hand on her hip.

"I'm supposed to get lunch with Sabrina. It's her day off," Emily explained.

"That hippie girl who works at the coffee shoppe?" Her mother's brows pushed together.

"She's not-" Emily stopped and shook her head with a huff. They'd been through this before. "She's a part owner there you know."

Her mother ignored the comment. "Em, I think going to get a tree and spending the holiday season with the kids is more important right now."

"Yeah, I know that." She knew that her mother had a point, plus she had spent time with Sabrina the previous weekend. She could likely stop by The Brew during her lunch break one day this week. It wouldn't be the same, but it would work. "What time would you come over tomorrow?" She asked.

"10?" Pam asked.

Emily eyed her. "How about 11?" She suggested. "I'll see if Alison is on board tonight."

"Wonderful," the older woman smiled earnestly.

—-

The next day, she and Alison packed up the car and bundled the kids up for the trip to the tree farm. It was just under an hour from where the house was, but Emily had learned over the past few months that she needed to plan for everything when taking the kids out of the house. She packed the diaper bag to capacity with clean diapers, snacks, and a spare change of clothes, plus books and toys to keep them occupied in the car.

She checked one last time to make sure that Liam's car seat was secured and then hopped into the driver's seat. It made sense to take her car because it was an SUV. There wasn't any snow on the ground, but she didn't really think Alison's BMW would be best for navigating the mountain roads, especially with the kids in the backseat.

"Ready?" She turned to Alison.

The blonde nodded from the passenger seat and Emily started the car. When she'd brought the idea up to Alison last night, she had agreed without protest, which made things easy.

"Where are we gooooooing?" Ellie asked from the backseat as they started down the road.

"We're going on a little trip to get our Christmas tree," Emily answered. She gave the little girl a smile in the rear view mirror.

"Why?" Ellie asked. She was getting into the 'why' stage that toddlers usually hit around her age. It had started a couple of weeks ago. Every time she asked a question or was told to do something, it was followed by one or multiple why's. Emily knew that it was just a stage of growing up. Curiosity was good because it meant that she was learning, but it did admittedly get annoying at times. Both she and Alison were trying to have patience with the little girl.

"Because we need a tree to decorate for when Santa Claus comes this month. We have to go get it from the tree farm," Emily answered.

"Why?" Ellie asked again.

Emily glanced at Alison as if to say, 'this is going to be a long trip, isn't it.'

"Don't look at me," Alison raised her brows amusedly. "I don't know why we have to go all the way to the mountains for a tree either."

"Well where else would you get a tree," Emily pushed her brows together in confusion.

"I'm pretty sure my Dad just drove down the road and grabbed one that they sold in the church parking lot every year," Alison told her.

"That's- no." Emily shook her head. "Those aren't real trees."

"Pretty sure they are," Alison argued with a laugh. "We watered it every few days until the needles fell off."

"I mean like it's not a real Christmas tree," Emily clarified. "My family used to get one from the same place each year. You'll understand when we get there."

"Hm..." Alison hummed, unconvinced but without a rebuttal.

Emily turned the car onto a wooded road, passing the sign for Lost Woods Drive, and started their adventure out of town.

"You know the way?" Alison asked.

"Like the back of my hand," Emily confirmed. She kept her eyes on the road as she drove around the narrow curves. She'd been on this road a million times, mostly to go up the the tree farm, but there was another place she had taken this road to before as well.

March 2020 ~

"Turn right," Alison instructed from the passenger seat.

Emily veered the car in the direction that Alison was pointing towards. She noted the sign at the edge of the road. Lost Woods Drive. "Oh, I've been this way before," she told the blonde with a nod.

"Good," Alison smiled. She reclined her seat slightly and pulled down her sunglasses. "Then I can relax."

Emily glanced over at the other woman. She looked like she was planning to take a nap. "Um, no." She objected with a little laugh. She had a smile on her face but she was serious. Alison didn't get to just lounge in the passenger seat and get chauffeured by her. "I might know this road, but I've never been to this lake house before."

"It's not far," Alison shrugged. "Just another forty minutes or so."

Emily wondered why they needed to go up to the lake house a day early if it was so close to town. It was Saturday morning and Spencer's bridal shower wasn't until Sunday afternoon. Back when they were discussing the plans for the party, Alison had mentioned that they would go up early Saturday and Emily didn't question it. Now that she was thinking about it, though, did they really have so much to do that they needed to arrive a full day before everyone else? "Well, no relaxing. I offered to drive, so I need you to navigate."

"Exactly," Alison pointed out. "You OFFERED to drive. I never offered to navigate."

Emily side eyed her with a serious face.

"Lucky for you," Alison lifted her sunglasses and placed back on top of her head. "I'm in a good mood today, so I guess I'll help."

Emily stole another glance at the blonde and noticed her trying to conceal a smile. She shook her head. She was used to this by now in the three months that she'd spent actually getting to know Alison. She understood a lot of aspects about her personality that had originally frustrated her. She knew that she couldn't let Alison's snark bother her. Usually there was a reason for it that had little to do with the person that the snark was being thrown at. Emily didn't let the other woman walk all over her. She'd learned her lesson early on with the engagement party. She pushed Alison and called her out when she didn't think that she was acting fairly. When Alison had suggested the Hastings family lake house as the location for Spencer's bridal shower, Emily made sure that she wasn't getting stuck with extra work. Today, they were going up together to get the house ready and start decorating for the party tomorrow. Despite only being in the car still, Alison was already doing more prep than she had for the last event.

"You'll go straight for the next twenty minutes or so," she told Emily before turning up the volume on the stereo.

"Thanks," Emily nodded. She could see Alison bobbing her head to the song as it came through the speakers. It was cute. She didn't want the blonde to notice her looking, so she tried to be discrete. It was like that a lot for Emily. She wanted to build a friendship with Alison but, admittedly, the attraction that she had initially felt when she met the other woman months ago hadn't gone away.

And it didn't help that they spent so much time alone together.

It surprisingly hadn't been awkward on New Years Day when they had woken up on the couch together. They had both snoozed while Spencer and Toby made breakfast and then ate with them before going their separate ways. Toby had pulled Emily aside on her way out and asked if something had happened between the two of them, but she assured him that it hadn't. Alison was just having a bad night, and Emily wanted to be there for her.

After that they started meeting up for coffee when Alison was in town. Sometimes they talked about the wedding, sometimes they talked about themselves. They'd gone dress shopping to pick out bridesmaid dresses with Spencer once in February and Emily had to do everything in her power to keep her face neutral while Alison modeled various dresses in the stores. There was no sense pretending that she didn't think that Alison was gorgeous. No sense pretending that she didn't love the color of her eyes or the way that she styled her hair. That she didn't love when the other woman smiled and her dimples pressed in to her cheeks. It would be an obvious lie if she did, and she was pretty sure that Alison knew that. The blonde seemed to fluctuate between seeking attention and running from it depending on who she was around. With Emily, it was usually the first option. She was trying to keep the thoughts in her mind platonic... but it wasn't always easy.

It especially wasn't easy on days like today when she felt sure that Alison had dressed up just for her. Alison had met her at her apartment complex that morning and hadn't said that she'd been anywhere before, yet she was still dressed up with her hair and makeup fully done. Emily had noticed the color of the red lip stain almost immediately. It was new and looked like it was made to compliment the pale tone of her face.

"What band is this anyway?" Alison asked breaking the silence. "I think I've heard them before."

"Probably at Spencer's. This has been mine and Toby's favorite band since like high school," Emily told her. She remembered that they would alternate buying the cd's back in ninth and tenth grade and then swap to download them to their iPod's.

"Hmm," Alison mused.

"Does that mean you like them too?" Emily asked.

Alison smirked. "When you play them, yeah."

Emily laughed at the response and shook her head. They didn't talk for much of the rest of the drive. The music continued to play and they just listened to it together, taking in the scenery of the blooming woods.

"Make a right onto this next road," Alison finally directed Emily when they were close.

Emily turned down the dirt road and house and lake came into view. Alison didn't give any further instructions, and since there weren't any more houses on the road, Emily pulled the car into the driveway and parked it. She looked out of her window at the small wooden cottage. "Is this it?" She asked.

"Yep," Alison nodded. She unfastened her seatbelt and hopped out of the car.

Emily followed her lead. She exited the front seat and grabbed her overnight bag from back. Once they got inside, she took a look around the cabin. It was simple. The middle area consisted of a large open room with a kitchen, dining table and entertainment area with the couches all centered around a large stone fireplace. There were two bedrooms, one on each side of the living space. The house seemed cozy, which she liked, but she had been expecting something a little more extravagant given who owned it.

Alison walked over to the couches and began removing the covering that rested on top to prevent it from getting dusty. She turned to Emily and noticed her looking around. "What do you think?" She asked.

"It's nice," Emily nodded. She kind of liked that it was just a simple place in the woods and not some big fancy lake mansion as she had pictured. She dropped her bag and walked over to help the blonde. "So is this just Spencer's family place or is it yours too?"

"Just the Hastings', my parents weren't really lake people. We have a beach house in Cape May," Alison told her. "Spence and I came here a lot when we were in high school, though. That's why I wanted to have the Shower here."

"What did you do here? Throw parties?" Emily asked.

"No," Alison laughed. "Those we're at my high school boyfriend's house. Spence and I came for different reasons. She was always sneaking boys here."

Emily's brows shot up. "Oh yeah?"

"Yep. Pretty sure she lost her V Card over on that couch," she pointed out.

"Maybe we'll leave the cover on that one then," Emily scrunched her nose causing Alison to giggle. "Is that why you came here too? Do we need to keep anything else covered?" She asked the question jokingly, but she was serious.

"No," Alison shook her head again. "I've never actually brought anyone here. I usually just came to be alone," she shrugged.

That was something that Emily had noticed about Alison. For someone so bold and charismatic, she seemed to like being alone more than being with other people. Yet… here Emily was. "So am I the first person that you've brought here then?"

Alison glanced over at her. Once side of her lips turned up into something that was somewhere between a smirk and a half-smile. "Guess you are," she shrugged. She picked up the cover to the couch and walked it over to the corner. After she dropped it, she dusted off her hands and turned back to Emily.

There was something about that realization that made Emily's heart pick up. She hadn't thought much of it when they were planning this weekend, but she was going to be spending the night with the blonde. Alone. Was that even appropriate? She took a couple of calming breaths. They were friends. She'd been taking the time to learn about Alison and build a friendship. There was nothing wrong with them coming to the lake house alone together because there was nothing more here than friendship. She took a minute to let her heart rate come down. "So," she finally said. "Are you going to show me around then?"

—

The tour inside was short because it was so small. Once Alison showed Emily the bedrooms and bathroom, they headed outside. The back out the house had a small deck with a grill and table for outdoor dining and then trailed off to a path down to the lake. They walked the path and eventually came up on a dock and boathouse.

"Do you know how to drive that thing?" Emily asked, noting the small covered motor boat in the boathouse.

"Yeah right," Alison snorted.

Emily figured that she should have known. The reason that she'd offered to drive them to the lake house to begin with was because she'd heard stories about Alison's driving. She valued her life and decided to do them both a favor by being the driver that day. It made sense that she wouldn't drive a boat either. "So what do you want to do?" Emily asked.

"I figured we can get everything unpacked and figure out the decorations then just hang by the dock," Alison shrugged.

"That works," Emily nodded. For early March, it was actually pretty warm that day. It would be nice to take advantage of the weather by hanging out outside. "And dinner?" She asked.

"Um…" Clearly the blonde hadn't thought of that. "I think there's a place that delivers pizza?"

Emily smiled. "Great, I love pizza." Though she had never once seen Alison eat pizza.

They walked back up the path to the car. There wasn't a ton to unload, but enough that each of them would need to make multiple trips. Before they got to the deck, Emily noticed another path that came from the house. Instead of leading to anything along the patio or to the lake, this path winded into the woods.

"Where does that go?" She asked, pointing to the path.

Alison glanced over at her and smiled to herself. "It's a secret," she said simply.

Emily squinted at her. Always an air of mystery with this girl. "Come on… you're not going to tell me?"

"Why don't you go look for yourself?" Alison nodded her head in the direction of the trail.

Emily glanced at the trail and back at the blonde. Alison raised her brows at her, as if daring her to go. It didn't ward Emily off. It just peaked her interest more. "Fine, maybe I will…." She raised her brows in return to mimic the blonde's expression and started walking towards the woods.

She had initially expected to find out what the secret was right when she entered the woods. She figured it was something simple like a shed or a tree swing, but she didn't see anything except a trail that weaved deeper into the woods. She continued walking, waiting for the secret to reveal itself. But it didn't. She walked about five minutes and the trail suddenly stopped in a small clearing. She looked around the edges of the clearing to see if the trail continued anywhere, but it didn't. The only thing there was a large rock. It was big, probably more like a boulder. Emily furrowed her brows. Was this it? She circled the rock to take a good look at it. The only distinguishing feature were the letters AD drawn on the back. They were small, and put on there with what looked like red nail polish. Okay, so Alison DiLaurentis Was Here… was that seriously what Emily had just walked a quarter of a mile into the woods for? She'd clearly been tricked. She wasn't mad, but she wasn't necessarily amused either. She shook her head and walked back to find the blonde, stomping through the woods.

"A reindeer!" Ellie shouted from the backseat, pulling Emily from her thoughts.

Next to her, Alison shot up from her reclining position and sucked in a sharp breath in alarm.

"It's okay, I see him," Emily told her softly. She knew that the blonde was nervous about something happening and Emily understood. How could she not be considering a car accident was the reason that they lost their friends?

"Why isn't he at the North Pole?" Ellie wondered from the backseat.

"It's a regular deer, not a reindeer," Emily

told her. "They live in the woods."

"Why?" Ellie asked.

Alison sighed from the passenger seat. Everything was 'why' these days. It never ended.

"Because they do," Emily answered. She wasn't a zoologist. She didn't know why.

It was quiet for a few moments, with Ellie seeming to accept Emily's non-answer. But then she started up again. "I want my muuuuusic," she whined.

Emily looked around for her phone. She had some of Ellie's songs saved on there.

"Please no," Alison reached out and stopped Emily's hand. "I had to listen to it everyday this week. I can't do another day."

Emily cracked a smile thinking of Alison having to endure hours of children's music each day. She turned to the blonde. "I have a better idea…" She turned on the radio and scanned to a channel that she listened to often in December. She smiled as the sounds of a Christmas song came through the speakers.

Dashing through the snow, in a one horse opened sleigh.

"This isn't much better," Alison grumbled.

"Are you going to be a grouch all day?" Emily side-eyed her.

"Well you're dragging me almost an hour out of town just so that we can strap a pine tree to your roof and bring it into the living room. Excuse me for not being more animated," Alison said in a monotone voice.

"Ali," Emily scolded, glancing at the blonde. "If you don't have Christmas in your heart, you aren't going to find it under the tree. So get excited or I'm turning around."

Alison chuckled at the words. "Who are you?"

"Your personal Christmas guru," Emily grinned.

"Whatever," Alison shook her head with an amused grin. "You'd better be my personal hot chocolate guru when we get to this place if you want me walking through the woods in December."

"I can be that too!" Emily told her.

They drove the rest of the way up the mountain with the sounds of Christmas carols filling the SUV, which was a welcome replacement for Ellie's questions and Alison's complaining.

Once they got to the tree farm, it turned out that Emily would really need to play hot chocolate guru, because it was at least ten degrees colder there than it was in Rosewood. After they got out of the car, they made a bee line for the hot chocolate stand.

This was actually a ritual that Emily had been very familiar with growing up. The little kiosk that sold the hot chocolate was built to look like a small gingerbread house. After you got your hot chocolate, you could walk around to the side and add whatever toppings you wanted. They had the works from whipped cream to candy canes to sprinkles. Of course Ellie wanted everything in hers, which Emily prayed didn't turn into a mess. Usually, Emily and her family went to the area where the trees were after getting hot chocolate, but Ellie had other ideas.

"I want to meet Santa!" The little girl spoke up. She directed her question at Alison who was pushing a blanked wrapped Liam in his stroller.

The blonde stared back at her for a moment before turning to Emily. "Is there a santa here?"

"Yeah," Emily nodded and pointed in the direction of a cabin across the complex. "Santa's house is over there."

"I want to see him!" Ellie told them, sounding even more excited.

Alison cracked a smile at the little girl and Emily took it as a cue that it was alright with her. "Okay, let's go…" She took Ellie's hand and let her start pulling her towards Santa's cabin.

Luckily when they got there the line wasn't terribly long. They let Ellie wait in line with the other children and sat down on a bench. It was nice to be inside and get out of the cold. Alison took the opportunity to get Liam out of the stroller and feed him some of his bottle. "Hopefully this Santa isn't a total creep," she commented.

Emily furrowed her brows and turned to the blonde. "Why would you say something like that?"

Alison cocked a brow. "Because of the Santa from the Rosewood Mall."

Emily thought for a minute. "I took my picture with him every year when I was a little kid."

"Yeah well he's not the Santa there anymore… They totally arrested him when we were in like middle school."

"What?!" Emily gasped.

"You didn't know about that?" Alison asked.

"I… no?" She really had t heard a thing about it. Sure, she had been a little bit sheltered when she was younger with being an only child, but it sounded like the kind of thing that would have been mentioned around town.

"Well, it's true," Alison shrugged.

The whole idea was disturbing. Emily looked at Ellie waiting in line. She looked hopeful and excited at the prospect of meeting Santa. She didn't want to take the experience from the little girl, but it was still her job to protect her. "Excuse me-" She got up quickly from the bench and headed to go to Ellie. She didn't make her leave, but she stood with her in line and eyed Santa like a hawk the whole time that Ellie was on his lap. It seemed alright, but she felt better knowing that she was supervising.

After seeing Santa, they decided to get some lunch. For a trip that was supposed to be about just getting a Christmas tree, they were certainly making a day out of it. It made Emily happy to share the place with Alison and the kids. It held so many memories for her and it made her feel optimistic that the four of them could continue to build memories here over the years together. She wasn't sure exactly what that future looked like yet. Things with Alison were good. They had been since the blonde had come back from New York about a month ago, but that didn't mean that they would stay that way. Would they still be living in the house together in limbo one year down the road? Two years? Emily didn't know. She wanted to savor moments like today while she could, though. Despite the tragedies that they had experienced, Emily relished watching Liam look around at the tree farm with wide eyes as he saw something like that for the first time. She relished watching Ellie giggle with Santa and whisper to him what she wanted to be under her tree. Relished watching Alison take her first sip of hot chocolate and close her eyes as she enjoyed the warm, sweet drink. She wanted to lock the memories from the day in her mind and think of them whenever she needed to feel happy.

After they ate lunch, they bundled up again and headed out to the area where the trees were growing. They began wandering around the rows and rows of Christmas trees. After about five minutes of walking, Alison finally spoke up. "What are we looking for… exactly?" She asked.

Emily turned back to look at the blonde. She was pushing Liam in his stroller and had a confused look on her face. Emily thought it was odd. Shouldn't it be obvious? "The perfect tree," she told her in a tone that had a hair of 'duh' in it.

"Well this one looks fine," Alison said, pointing to the tree next to them.

"What? No," Emily shook her head. "There's way too much space between these branches. The ornaments will weigh them down and the gaps will be huge."

"Okay…" Alison looked around. She pushed the stroller a few feet and pointed to another. "This one?"

"Ali," Emily scolded. The tree that she had pointed out was even worse. "The top is crooked. The star would fall off."

"We usually did an angel," Alison diverted.

"Well whatever we use, it won't be on that tree," Emily told her.

"Emily, how long is it going to take you to find a tree. I doubt the kids want to walk around in the cold for hours. I sure as hell don't," The blonde grumbled.

"It won't take hours. I know what I'm doing here. Trust me," Emily told her pointedly. "Come here Ellie," she bent down and picked up the little girl who had been holding her hand and walking next to her. "Let's show Aunt Ali how to pick a tree."

Alison rolled her eyes, but followed with the stroller when Emily continued through the trees. She knew what she was looking for. Her Dad had trained her when she was little on the art of finding the perfect Christmas tree. She knew that it had to be full, but manicured. It had to have a straight branch on top. The branches need to be spaced evenly. The needles couldn't be dried out yet. A lot went into it and sometimes it took patience, but the perfect tree was out there.

After about thirty minutes and a whole lot of huffing and puffing from behind, Emily finally chose a tree.

"Thank god," Alison sighed.

Emily noticed that her cheeks were getting rosy from the cold. She looked down at Liam in the stroller. He was bundled under a hat, coat, and blanket, but his cheeks were starting to get a little color too. She had found the tree at the perfect time.

"Now what?" Alison asked.

Emily cracked a smile. She couldn't believe this woman had never done this before. "Now we chop it down. Can you reach under the stroller. I put the axe in the basket."

"What?!" Alison gasped and immediately started looking at the stroller for the tool.

"Relax, I'm kidding" Emily laughed. "I'll go get one of the workers to cut it for us." She took Ellie with her and started walking towards through the trees.

"Not funny!" She heard the blonde call to her. It made her laugh to herself. Alison had no problem messing with her, she could serve it right back.

The attendant cut down the tree. Ellie and Alison watched in awe as their new Christmas tree was cut down to the stump and placed in a wheel barrel for them to take home. He waked with them to the car and strapped the tree on the roof while Emily and Alison got the kids into their carseats. Emily had a warm feeling in her chest as the four of them began their descent down the mountain. Mission accomplished.

"So," Emily turned to Alison while she drove. The kids were in the back,both snoozing after a long day. "Now you know where Christmas trees come from." She made the comment cheekily, as if she had just told her where babies come from or something potentially as equal of a mind blower.

"Shut up," the blonde laughed. She swatted Emily's arm playfully.

Emily laughed at the reaction and looked back to the road. She'd like to think that despite the complaining, Alison had enjoyed herself. Emily had fun sharing with everyone. It seemed like Ellie had fun too, especially because she had gotten to meet Santa. Liam had been cooperative throughout. The day had been a success so far and she looked forward to getting back to the house to see what her mother had done with the decorations.

The car ride was quiet for the most part on the way home. She drove with the music on low because the kids were sleeping. After several minutes, she noticed Alison dozing off in the passenger seat and decided to let her have a little break and enjoy the rest. She kept her eyes focused on the road. She eventually passed Lost Woods Drive for a second time. She looked at the woods surrounding and thought back to that day again.

After walking back the length of the trail, Emily spotted Alison sitting on a bench close to the house. She was playing on her phone, but she stood up when she noticed Emily approaching. "Thought I was going to have to come looking for you…"

"A rock? Seriously?" Emily folded her arms.

"Not just any rock…" Alison tilted her head and turned up one side of her lips. "The kissing rock."

Emily raised a brow. She had no idea where the other woman was going with this.

"Don't you know? People have been sneaking off to the kissing rock for hundreds of years," Alison told her.

It could have sounded factual. Except it totally wasn't. "You're making that up," Emily said.

"Just because I make it up doesn't mean it's not true," Alison shrugged a single shoulder. "There's ghosts in these woods and if you go to the kissing rock with someone, they'll spy on you and push you to do it." She told the brunette seriously.

Emily wasn't convinced. "It's just a dusty old rock," she shook her head.

Alison shrugged again. "Maybe…But you know…" Her lips morphed into a full on smirk. "You should never disappoint a ghost," her eyes twinkled as she told Emily.

Emily looked over at Alison in the passenger seat and then glanced at the kids in the back seat through the rear view mirror. All that she could think was How in the world did they get here? Because since meeting Alison, their relationships had more twists and turns than a roller coaster. Six months ago, Emily would have sworn that this never would have worked. She would have ran the other way. It felt like it was working, though. It felt like something was clicking for them. On a day like this, she felt hopeful.

She decided to wake Alison up when they were a few minutes away from the house.

"Hey," Emily reached over and jostled her slightly. "We're almost home."

Alison blinked her eyes opened and stretched out her body to wake herself up. "Was I asleep the whole time?" She turned to Emily and asked.

"Just about," Emily chuckled. "I have a surprise for you," she told her her. They were hit a couple of blocks away from the house. She'd never actually told

Alison what her mother had been planning. The blonde hadn't mentioned decorations once and Emily thought the reason may have been the same as hers.

"A surprise?" Alison repeated.

Emily looked ahead at the block that the house was located on. She saw a house all lit up with Christmas lights that hadn't been the previous week and crossed her fingers that it was theirs. She didn't answer the blonde's question. She drove a little bit closer until she knew for sure that their house was the one lit up and then turned to Alison and smiled.

"Oh my god!" Alison's eyes widened in shock when they pulled into the driveway.

Emily put the car in park. "Thought our tree needed some other decorations if we were really going to get into the holiday spirit this year."

"You did this?" Alison asked, clearly confused seeing as she'd been with Emily all day.

"My Mom did actually…" Emily confessed. "Do you like it?" Judging by the blonde's smile, she felt pretty sure that she knew the answer to that. It was big, genuine, and continued all the way to her eyes. Her dimples were visible on both cheeks, which Emily loved to see. Alison was trying to make her happy and comfortable and Emily wanted to do the same for her.

"It's amazing," Alison marveled in response.

"So does this mean you'll stop being such a grouch?" Emily asked, thinking back to Alison's attitude earlier in the day.

"No promises there."

"Hmm," Emily thought. "Maybe less of a grinch then?"

Alison laughed. "I can definitely do that, yeah."

They both turned their direction back to the house. It was lit up completely with white lights and then had a string of green lights framing the door. Emily was sure that her mother had enlisted help with that, likely from Toby's Dad. Her mother was also a garland-freak, though, so she was sure that she had been responsible for the garland that was wrapped all the way around the porch banisters. It looked great. She turned to Alison again and they shared a smile. Christmas had always been Emily's favorite time of year, but she'd been worried that this year might be different. There was underlying sadness, of course. Right now though, in this moment, she was starting to feel her love for Christmas again as her chest felt full of holiday cheer.

—

A/N - Sigh, Emily without Christmas decorations in December is like Santa without his sleigh. She needed that. Hope you guys liked the flashback. I won't lie, I got a little triggered when I was editing and saw March 2020. Remember, no pandemic in this one. Too soon. Though I did think… wouldn't a great prompt be Alison coming back to Rosewood from Beacon Heights because of the pandemic and being stuck in the house with Emily and the twins during lockdown? Actually never mind, still too soon.

Looking forward to seeing who is still reading and what you guys think! Let me know in the reviews. Quick note- Hopefully we can keep things kind in the reviews from here on out. I read every review. Cursing at me and calling me names for not updating is pretty rough to read. I'm cool with constructive criticism on the story, but try and be kind. Thanks for sticking with this story and take care of yourselves!